Strategic planning: Fayetteville Regional Airport Director LaGala outlines plans for continued growth

By Eddie Velazquez, posted Jul 17, 2026 on BizFayetteville.com

An aircraft departs Fayetteville Regional Airport, connecting travelers and businesses to hundreds of domestic and international destinations through onestop service via American Airlines and Delta Air Lines. Photos provided by Fayetteville Regional Airport.

The Fayetteville Regional Airport (FAY) is an economic driver for the region that, by the most recent estimates published by the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), brings home around $830 million to the local economy. Airport Director Andrew LaGala says it can be even more, and that things set in motion since the beginning of his tenure in late 2024 will make FAY take another leap forward.

That next step could include options for cargo operations, more airlines, more services and routes and opportunities to build the local workforce. LaGala said that type of growth could come through fulfilling the Airport Master Plan, a document that will guide the airport’s growth through capital development and passenger growth. That plan, LaGala said, is being worked on in collaboration with the master plans of the City of Fayetteville and Cumberland County.

“What’s really important about that collaboration is making sure that the county knows what we’re looking to build and develop on our property in the coming 10 years, so they can then dovetail their development and construction around our area as well, along with the city,” LaGala said. “The city and county have their own property surrounding the airport, so if we can turn it all into a collaborative effort, we can start building and developing this corridor.”

Developing those areas will make the airport, city and county much more attractive for private capital to invest in the area and provide economic opportunities, LaGala said. For instance, he added, airlines are looking for the presence of corporate headquarters, advanced manufacturing facilities and distribution and logistics companies that can help make their investments more secure.

“I could build it all, and then if people come and there’s nowhere to go or nothing to do, that is no good,” LaGala said.

Emerging opportunities for the airport could also include accommodating technology of the present and future, like advanced air mobility. This type of tech entails electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft that can transport people and cargo.

An all-female flight crew arrives at Fayetteville Regional Airport, reflecting the growing presence of women in aviation and the collaborative partnerships that connect the Fayetteville region to destinations around the world.

“We want to have an area where large drones move people and can operate someday down the road [at] the airport. We want to identify an area that would do that,” LaGala noted.

The airport could also welcome a maintenance, repair and overhaul, or MRO, facility. That could be a two-fold business, LaGala said. The first is an aircraft hangar area where regional jets for bigger airlines can receive maintenance or repairs.

“The airlines would then maybe want to rotate more airplanes through our airport, giving us more frequency and more service, because those airplanes are scheduled for their regular maintenance,” LaGala noted.

The other side of an MRO operation would be to provide opportunities to highly skilled Veterans from Fort Bragg.

“Many individuals, once they get out of the military, they have great skillsets, especially when it comes to mechanics skillsets, and other technical skills,” LaGala noted. “These can be great, high-paying jobs, and we could build that network here for workforce development.”

Establishing a cargo operations facility at FAY could also be part of the airport’s future, LaGala added. Currently, airplane cargo mostly goes through the Raleigh airport.

“What we’re looking at doing is working with the cargo companies to start cargo operations out of here, so you no longer have to truck cargo from here to Raleigh,” he noted. “The idea is it wouldn’t be a big operation, it would be scalable to the size of our airport, but it can be done in certain different ways.”

As the airport continues to develop, LaGala said FAY has made significant strides in the past year in reaching its goals of better service and economic development.

In the past year, Delta Airlines doubled its flights from two to four a day shortly after the start of LaGala’s tenure, he noted. American Airlines operates seven flights per day, LaGala added.

“Really, air service and regional connectivity are the most important,” he noted.

As of 2025, according to the NCDOT, the airport supports 5,285 jobs in the region and leases space for 73 aircraft.

“Our biggest goal here is to continue growing and enhancing airline service, so doing that through multiple meetings with network planners with the airlines, both legacy carriers and low-cost carriers,” LaGala said.

Copyright © 2026 Enhanced Media Management Inc. dba Greater Fayetteville Business Journal
This story may be displayed, reformatted and printed for your personal, noncommercial use only and in accordance with our Terms of Service located at https://bizfayetteville.com/useragreement.